The government should break its silence over the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) freezing the accounts of three foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that had substantially invested in Adani Group, the Congress said on Tuesday.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh demanded that the Narendra Modi government should make public the beneficiaries of the foreign investor funds that have invested over 95% of their funds in four Adani Group companies that had witnessed massive gains in the past one year.
The Congress’ comments come a day after after shares of Adani Group companies fell by as much as 25% amid reports that the NSDL had frozen accounts of the three funds. The Adani Group, however, refuted the reports and called them “blatantly erroneous and misleading”.
Citing media reports, Mr. Vallabh said the NSDL — the central securities depository under the Ministry of Finance — has frozen the accounts of Adani Group’s three foreign investor funds: Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund.
He alleged that these three funds have the same registered address in Port Louis, Mauritius; don’t have a website of their own yet own over ₹43,500 crore worth of shares in four Adani Group companies together.
“The funds derive more than 95% of their net worth from their investments in the Adani Group companies. The NSDL and the Finance Ministry need to break their silence and come out with the truth,” Mr. Vallabh told reporters.
Why has the NSDL, under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, not come out with a public statement in the middle of all the confusion about whether these funds’ accounts are being frozen, he asked.
“We also demand that if Securities and Exchange Board of India's ongoing investigation has revealed any irregularities with regards to price manipulation of Adani Group stocks, the government of India should transfer the investigation to the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the entire matter and come out with the truth for everyone to understand,” Mr. Vallabh said.
